Pebbled surface



Nov. 19, 1940. F, W|| |AMS 2,221,890

PEBBLED SURFACE Filed Nov. 25, 1957 Patented Nov. 19, 1940 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE PEBBLED SURFACE Findley Williams, Park Ridge, Ill.,assigner to Certain-toed Products Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Maryland Application November 23, 1937, Serial No.176,074

2 Claims.

that it provides a very effective surface for display purposes; otherfeatures and advantages of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and the drawing, in which: A Figure 1 is anelevation showing pebbling means; Figure 2 is a fragmentary top planview of a board embodying this invention: and Figure 3 is a sectionalview along the line 3-3 of Figure 2. f It is frequently desirable, as indisplay or photographic work, to use a surface having high reflectingability which will diffuse the light as it reects it, in order to avoidharsh and strongly dened shadows. While diilusing surfaces of varioustypes are known, the present invention provides a new and improvedsurface wherein there is little absorption of light during reflectionand where the desired diffusion is obtained. This is achieved bypebbling the surface of a board having a thin layer of metallic foilthereon. In the particular embodiment of this invention illustratedherewith a board I 0 is here shown as comprising a foundation or mainportion II of two plies of fibrous cellulosic material, such as paper orcardboard. This material is deformable in the sense that under pressurevarious irregularities can be created therein, as depressions and raisedportions, which irregularities do not disappear when the pressure isremoved. This foundation may be common wall board or other similarlaminated board.

The laminated board II is here shown as having attached to one surfacethereof, as by suitable adhesives, a thin continuous layer of materialI2 of high reflectivity, that is. material which will return a verylarge proportion of the light falling upon it without appreciableabsorption loss. 'This may be a metallic foil, preferably of the presentinvention. The roll I3 is here shown as a pebbling roll, having a numberof small irregularities etched or otherwise formed on its surface, andthe roll I4 is here shown merely asw a small backing roll to enabledesired pressure to be placed on the board I0 as it is passed under thepebbling roll I3. It is to be understood that the roll I3 is here shownas the only pebbling roll merely because the board I0 is illustrated ashaving only one surface layer 10 of material of high reectivity, ratherthan being similarly surfaced on both sides.

The action of the pebbling roll deforms the surface layer I2 and thefoundation material beneath it to form depressions or depressed por- 15tions I8. The action of the roll also forms a number of interspersedraised 'portions I9. These portions are not necessarily raised fromtheir original level, but are merely raised with respect to thesurrounding depressed portions. 20 All of these portions are small, theraised portions, for instance, being preferably less than one-sixteenthof an inch across, and merged into one another to form a continuousirregular layer. That is, the foil surface slopes from the depres- 25sions to the raised portions, and vice versa, as may be readily seenfrom Figure 3.

'I'he surface thus formed is one having high reilectivity, and yet verygood diffusing properties. Each raised portion serves as a convex re- 30ilecting surface which spreads the rays of light falling upon it, andthe depressed portions form concave reflecting surfaces which convergethe rays to a rather close focus and then cause them to spread beyondthat point as they cross. In 35 photography, for example, the surfacemay be cheaply and readily formed into shapes which will cast areflected light on objects being photographed in such a way that sharpand unpleasing shadows are eliminated. Similarly, the board 4o may beused in flat or curved form as part of window or other displays in orderto show to the best advantage an object to which it is desired toattract attention.

While I have described and claimed certain 45 embodiments of myinvention it is to be understood that it is capable of manymodifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangementmaybe made without departing from the spirit and scope oi. the inventionas disclosed 1. .An article of manufacture comprising a base o!substantiallylrigid laminated fibre board capable of surface deformationand having a face surface thereof of substantial extent deformed toprovide thereon a pebbled surface of irregular contour composed oi'depressions and interspersed raised portions, the tops of the raisedportions and the bottoms of the depressions respectively being formedasconvex and concave surfaces, the major portion of saicl face surfacebeing formed as slopes at angles to the general extent of said saidsurface and extending about said raised portions and so as to form thetops of theraised portions and the bottoms of the depressions for themost part without substantial extent in the direction parallel to theextent of said face surface, said slopes being formed at anglesdiifering substantially for the various raised portions and depressionsbut for the most part merging with said convex and concave surfacesthereof. said raised portions for the most part being less than inchacross, the dimensions between the raised portions for the most partbeing greater than the depth of the depressions. and a thin lamina ofmetallic foil attached to and conforming to the raised portions anddepressions in said deformed surface and providing a reiiective surfacefor said face of the board having the same irregular pebbled contour asthe deformed face surface of said base from which reflective surfacelight is reflected at greatly different angles and the amount of lightreflected in a given direction from each point of the surface is therebyreduced to secure diffusion.

2. An article of manufacture of the character claimed in claim 1,wherein said base is a rigid laminated board of iibrous cellulosicmaterial and said thin surface layer is aluminum foil.

FINDLEY WILLIAMS.

